The prior art describes various devices and procedures for applying labels to a bottle, cf. e.g. DE 30 02 250, DE 2 202 525 and DE 2 303 547, which is owned by the applicant.
When labels are applied to label carriers, such as food packages, in this case especially beverage bottles, the problem arises that the process has to be executed as a continuous process, whereas the labels to be applied are normally produced and prepared in the area of a print shop and are then transported in packed units from this label production area to a label application area which is normally located in the bottling or bagging area of a food packaging firm, and in particular in the bottling area of a bottling firm. Here, the labels combined in the respective packed units are removed from said packed units and inserted in a magazine. This magazine is supplied to the labelling unit which removes the labels one by one directly from the magazine or from a removal site which is fed by the label magazine.
EP 1 097 872, for example, discloses a device for applying labels in the case of which the label magazine consists of a label drum defining on the outer circumferential surface thereof a plurality of axially extending label accommodation means. This label magazine rotates relative to a label removal site. Respective individual label accommodation means are in alignment with the label removal site which is fed by one of the label accommodation means of the label magazine arranged in alignment with the label removal site in the axial direction. The label removal site comprises a temporary storage unit which is able to store a certain number of labels so that the labelling process need not be interrupted when the label magazine is exchanged.
According to the method known from DE 2 202 525, labels in transport containers are supplied by the manufacturer. The operators of the machine attach the individual transport containers to a transfer station where the content of the transport containers is transferred to a temporary storage unit of the labelling unit from where the labels are transferred one by one to the label carrier where they are fixed in position. It is true that, in the case of this known prior art, the complicated process of unpacking the packed units of labels and stacking the labels in the label accommodation means of the label magazine is no longer necessary, but the provision of the labels at the labelling unit nevertheless necessitates a substantial amount of manual activities which, taking into account the almost complete automation of the packaging and labelling process, is to be avoided.